The Shield

Loved that TV show. Banged out all 7 seasons last spring on DVD. Sweet!

But this is no recap of that. Who wants to talk more Ray Rice?! OK, most have had enough of it. As have I. But the sad thing is that even though Rice is a scumbag, could the NFL and its “leadership” have come across as ever worse in this whole thing? Hard to believe, but it’s quite possible. But more importantly, should we be surprised at all of this?

What Rice did was certainly reprehensible. And the Ravens can certainly exercise their right to release him, which they did. The NFL can suspend him, which they did. But he will be back…if he can still play of course. His 2013 was nothing to write home about, so maybe he can’t. But some team will likely take a chance on him down the road. I’m ok with that. After all Michael Vick, Pacman Jones and various others have gotten second chances. Everyone deserves a second chance. People make mistakes (though admittedly, throwing a heavy left cross and then dragging your girlfriend around like a carcass might be stretching it to be called a “mistake”, but…).

But it’s surprising to me that this has blown up as far as it has. Part of it is the NFL’s role in it, more on that later. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that it should be swept under the rug (again, more on the NFL later). But Ray Rice is far from the first domestic abuser in the NFL…or professional sports for that matter. I think the available video has really pushed this into the public eye more. But where was the outcry when Greg Hardy was found guilty for assaulting his ex-girlfriend in July? Or when Ray McDonald was arrested in August for allegedly assaulting his PREGNANT fiancee? Is it because of the video? But this kind of stuff has been going on since Christian Peter was beating up women at Nebraska and Robert Kraft tried to pull a fast one by drafting him 3 rounds after he was projected. If it wasn’t for his wife Myra, who essentially made the Pats never sign him, business would have gone on as usual. Jeez, do we all forget Lawrence Phillips, who was firing women down stairwells with some regularity (among many other despicable acts)? And countless cases before that most assuredly.

Just surprises me that Rice is the case that is being singled out. When the league is full of these jokers. And full of criminals in general. What does the public expect from the people that play this sport? Full of domestic abusers, drug addicts, guys that are part of drug rings, juicers, gang bangers, even murderers, etc. The Rice thing is just another day at the office. I don’t mean to minimize the situation. But the league has a bigger problem than Ray Rice. And I’m not entirely sure it is fixable. Maybe it’s all the hits to the head and other general violence. Not sure. But doesn’t look like things will change.

What’s exacerbating the whole issue is the whole NFL bungle job on the Rice case in particular. Roger Goodell certainly lied through his teeth. As anyone else involved with the league and the Ravens most assuredly did as well. They all wanted to bury it because they know the last paragraph is true. A lot of bad dudes in the NFL. So let’s just fire out a suspension and move on. Suppose I can’t blame them…especially with the money at stake. “Protect the Shield”. Something bad goes down, act swiftly and then move on. Don’t jeopardize all the dough flowing in.

Anyway, the NFL certainly doesn’t handle everything perfectly. This just looks worse because of the blatant lying. They should have just got ahead of it and dealt with it then. Video is everywhere. How did they not figure someone like TMZ would get a hold of the tape?

So Goodell may lose his 44 million dollar job. But who cares? Another figurehead will take his seat. And what really changes? Also, if the same type of players keep coming into the league, what really changes there too?

Like I said, just another day at the office…nothing to see here. Oh look, Adrian Peterson just got deactivated for Week 2. He is facing charges for allegedly beating his kid…carry on…

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About mpdenton

I am a passionate and life long fan of the local teams...and by local I mean New England. I remember the days of Ray Bourque, Larry Bird, Steve Grogan and Wade Boggs...meaning I have lived the highs and lows of the Boston sports scene. With all this pent up Boston sports emotion, I clearly have a lot to say about the local teams and sometimes about sports in general. Maybe even the Revolution...
I appreciate you reading my blog and hope you enjoy my rants.

This seems to be another example of the “cover up is worse than the crime” well maybe not…the crime was heinous. But the arrogance of the Goodell and the owers – Kraft, the Rooneys, Bisciotti et al is what makes the awful situation even worse. There is something to be said about what Mark Cuban said about the NFL being too greedy and becoming hogs. There appears to be a hubris with these owners and by extension – Goodell. They make so much money, are so popular that they don’t feel like the have to answer to anyone. Don’t we hear similar stories at places like Penn State w Joe Paterno…or USC? Or Alabama etc….end of the day money talks, everything else gets pushed aside.

If the likes of Rice, Peterson, McDonald, Hardy et al were some 3rd string special team player would there be any confusion as to what the NFL and team’s actions would have been? But they are stars, who impact the product on the field and that impacts revenue. I know we half joke about it, but I am sure that if Aaron Hernandez is found not guilty, someone…will get him on their roster…

Yup, you said it…money talks…and that’s all that matters. Wouldn’t be surprised about the A-Hern comments as well. He has talent and if he is judged to be not guilty, teams will be able to spin it that way to their fans. It may not be many teams that would do it, but all you need is one…

I think what the Commissioner was expecting was charges being filed and Rice calls it quits. Same with AP.
The Vikings look bad now.
The NFL has been overhyping itself the last few years. So with that hype there is a backlash.
But they will survive this and thrive.
The first major upset or OT game combined with world events this will die down or be put on the collective back burner.